Miata prices ?
 

So, after years of hearing "Miata is always the answer", my youngest is showing interest in driving, stick shift, and NA Miatas. I figure, cool, a project for me and the chance to discover a car I always wondered about.

In the outdated car price guide in my head, I assumed same budget as his brother, $6000 or so for a "first used car", should be doable..

Hell no !!

I followed an auction near me - with a bad top, a fender dent, an airbag light and no SMOG yet (potential surprise at the end) , that went for $10K... Oops.. My guess was 3-4 !!!

I recall those cars much lower in price, but I suppose they went up like everything else.. Kid is SET on pop up lights (who am I to discourage car enthusiasm, so no NB or NC)... Is it me? area ? condition ? I have time to do some cosmetic and maintenance fixes before he needs it, but not full rebuilds... Can I make it happen or are we firmly into 10K+ territory nowadays ?

Advice and gotchas welcome. ( I know they're non interference engines and about potential rust)..

yes they are substantially up gone from old used to cars to enthusiast classics. You can find an occasional good deal in local classifieds still. NB are up quite a bit as well.

Love me some pop up headlights as well. A boy of good taste. C5 corvette has 2x as much hardware and isnt much more expensive like for like than a miata. Not necessarily condoning but auto c5s are basically free.

Wow! Things have changed since I bought my NA! But then they are 28-36 years old now, so they are "classic". Holy hell!

Right ? I think I have a better chance of finding a cheap 986 at that price, honestly ! FAt chance of that happening though. Thanks for the idea Aschen (on the technical and price side), but I've grown attached to the kid, and a V8 at 15 strikes me as terrible parenting ;-)

A quick scan of FBM near me shows them from $5000 - $8000, with some over $10,000. But I'd have to look at them really close that they weren't all rusted out underneath.

Around here, CP could probably find a good one.

I would also suggest a nissan 240sx s-13 like miatas they are overpriced and mostly beat to hell by now but equally as fun and you have 4 seats and a top. I had one for my first car and it was more fun than my 911 even stock

Walla Walla Wa, 4500 buckaroos, fair condition, 99K miles

http://kpr.craigslist.org/cto/d/walla-walla-1990-mazda-miata/7876056217.html

You can find them for under $10k with some looking. Unfortunately it’s hard to find ANY nice used car for under $10k anymore.

Go look for a nice one you’ll be floored. $30k+, absolutely crazy for what they are. I had one 1998-2001, great car that was let down by the truck engine. I always wanted to SR20DET swap mine but I was broke.

Manager at the auto skills shop sold an abandoned Miata for a grand. Engine was apart and had more algae on the paint than mossy oak on a Minnesota hunter.

I had a hard time getting 900. for my 89 coupe 5 speed and it was in pretty good shape

Find one with an automatic and swap in a 5 speed

Car will be in much better shape, slushbox will be cheaper too

What year Miata are we talking about?

1990 starts at 3K around here
Newest well..... let's say around 30K

They're out there, but you have to be patient and lucky:

https://www.theautopian.com/stress-free-fun-1993-mazda-miata-vs-1999-chevy-tracker/

I thought of that overnight actually and was gonna ask... you beat me to it.. I did that to my E46 M3 (well I *signed the check*) and it was a big check, is that cheaper on a miata ?

NA. Meaning the first model with pop up lights only.. I am not as versed in dates as with Porsches so 89 to late 90s I guess.

I bought a 1995 Miata in 2016 for $2750. Sold it in 2018 for $6500. Should’ve held on to it but had already bought a Boxster S to replace it.

89-98…

The 95+ cars have a 1.8 which has a bit more power than the 1.6 but that 1.6 is special… the older 1.6 engined have a short nose crank which can result in a leak in the crank pulley that there is no speedi sleeve for…

Thanks, slightly confused though, are you saying the 1.6 is special as in smaller but great? or special as in short nose cranks that's a pain to repair ?
Performance is not the idea here, the idea is teaching the kid a) manual b)sports car c) not too fast d) how to fix stuff on it before he even gets to drive it. Worked really well with my other kid but he wanted a Mini and that is %$%$#% to maintain. Miata should be much more reliable if within budget. Trying to mold 2 more auto enthusiasts here.

The Miata crankshaft nose was changed in mid 1991.
You can google the vin number of the change, or watch a video showing the differences.
Late 91 - 93 still had the 1.6L engine, but with an updated crankshaft. 94 - 97 would have the 1.8 engine.

The 1.6 is more free revving than a 1.8. The earlier NA cars are really sweet. The short nose cranks of the early cars are prone to wear from the crank seal. There is no fix for this apart from trying to get the seal to wear in a different spot.